Author
Topic: Decals Question (Read 14605 times)

Well, the paint shop called me today and said the decals won't release from the paper backing. This is the second shop I have carried the car to , but at least he finished the flaws, wetsanded and buffed the car that the first shop took over a year after painting to do. I'm going to pick it up Saturday, drive it home, put it in the garage and take a chill pill again. I guess projects aren't worthwhile if you don't have numerous problems and long periods of time where nothing gets done.lol Lack of stories to tell makes for a boring project.

As you can tell, I'm a patient person when it comes to projects. I'm going to tackle these decals myself before I call PG and start complaining. They sat for two years in the tube and out of the elements in a climate controlled room so they should be fine. I installed a stripe kit a few years ago on my 80 Z28 and they came out just fine. Those were loooooong stripes down the sides too and a big one on the hood scoop.

I'm not sure how my paint man was prepping the car or what, but I'm just ready to get it home before the weather gets cold every day. That way I can get to it at my convenience.

Any suggestions on installing are welcome. Meanwhile I'll read the other threads on here concerning installation issues people encountered. Thanks in advance.

There is one recent one stating that the new Backing or method needs to stay 24 Hrs as apposed to just a couple hrs like the old stuff. I think it matters who made the decals to as some have different procedures!

I put everything on the car Saturday except the bird. It all went without a hitch. Not sure what problem he was having with installing them. Granted, I haven't tackled the bird yet, but so far everything is fine and looks good.

When I called and talked with Chris at PG he said that the decals do have a shelf life and that they should basically be ordered just right before you want to put them on. I let mine set for about 2 yrs and had problems with the backing paper not wanting to release the decals. A minimum of 24 hours drying time is what is needed now for the new decals from PG and from what I can gather from Chris you will have glue residue on your decals just the way it is. Chris said clean with lighter fluid or a wax and grease remover. I suggested making the cover a little larger than the decal to make it a little easier to make sure you get the sides to lay down he said wasn't going to happen that that's how they are set up to die cut it. I also suggested that they put a little better description for installation procedures with the kits, he told me that they don't send anything like that with the kits or placement measurements I'm thinking why not? Chris said he couldn't do anything about my bird cause it had been so long since I ordered it He said he might be able to give me a discount on a new one. I really don't think I'll buy one from them I think I'll have one made from another vinyl decal maker. I would say that if your decals are older than 6 months and you try to put them on you are more than likely to have a problem.

Well, I put the bird on today and let it sit for 5 hours (directions say a minimum of 3, so I thought I would give it a little extra time.) Turned out good except for a lot of bubbles. I used a pin and worked most of them out. I'm going to let it sit out in the sun this Saturday and see if the heat will shrink them. It's not perfect, but I think it turned out pretty well if the bubbles go away. By the way, the gel makes a hell of a mess!

I have purchased my decals from Stencils & Stripes after numerous problems from PG as well. The folks at Stencils & Stripes (Ralph) recommended placing any decals that are being stored in a high quality zip lock freezer bag. He said the air will dry out the backing and decal causing a lot of headaches when attempting to release or apply the decal.

Needless to say, all of my decals in storage are in a zip-lock bag. I haven't experienced any problems with the quality of decals at Stencils & Stripes. They seem like a smaller firm, more control over their inventory and quality?

While the shelf life may be plausible, many would prefer they used decals that were a few years old in recent times that still had the old paper backing. NOS GM decals on 3M paper still work fine from 30 years ago if stored properly. And I bet many of the decal kits in the warehouses of the stockists are not all recent, some of the rarer colour schemes or stripes could be there for years, while the typical black and gold SE gets replaced every week. I still have a full set for mine in the original mailing tube from 5 years ago, and they better be fine for another 5 years before it gets paint, especially when shipping overseas alone cost the same as the decals.

While the shelf life may be plausible, many would prefer they used decals that were a few years old in recent times that still had the old paper backing. NOS GM decals on 3M paper still work fine from 30 years ago if stored properly. And I bet many of the decal kits in the warehouses of the stockists are not all recent, some of the rarer colour schemes or stripes could be there for years, while the typical black and gold SE gets replaced every week. I still have a full set for mine in the original mailing tube from 5 years ago, and they better be fine for another 5 years before it gets paint, especially when shipping overseas alone cost the same as the decals.

Mine released from the backing fine, the only problem I have is with the air bubbles which I'm continuing to work out. I let it sit overnight in the basement (where it will always be anyway), and a lot of the bubbles have disappeared. I've worked more of them out with a pin and hairdryer as well. It's starting to look really good now. Knock on wood.

Well, instead of leaving out in the sun yesterday in the driveway (a few trees overhead with acorns bombing the driveway), I backed the a** end out of the garage, cranked it and ran the motor for about 20 minutes. An hour later ALL the bubbles that were left are now gone. I would never have thought this bird would look as good as it does. Turned out better than I could have imagined.